On the worksheets, you (the student) should go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and click on "Worksheets" under "Before Beginning a FAFSA" or complete the left-hand (yellow) side on page 8 of the paper FAFSA.

Earned income credit. Enter the earned income credit from IRS Form 1040 - line 64; 1040A - line 41; 1040EZ - line 8; Telefile - line L.

Additional child tax credit. Report the amount from IRS Form 1040 - line 66 or 1040A - line 42.

Welfare benefits (including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]). Enter the total amount of welfare benefits you (and your spouse) received, including TANF, in 2002. Report the amount you received for the year - not monthly amounts. Do not include food stamps or subsidized housing.

Untaxed Social Security benefits. If Social Security benefits were paid to your parents on your behalf (because you were under 18 years old at the time), those benefits are reported as your parents' income, not your income.

If you, as head of household, receive benefits on behalf of persons included in your household size these benefits must be reported as your income. However, if a member of your household, such as an uncle or grandmother, receives benefits in his or her own name, you do not report those benefits as your income.

The actual amount of benefits received for the year in question must be reported, even if that amount represents an underpayment or an overpayment that may be compensated for in the next year. This parallels the IRS treatment of overpayments of taxable income (such as salary) that must be reported and are taxed as any other income.